NEW DELHI: A five-storey building housing a student paying guest accommodation collapsed like a stack of pancakes in south Delhi’s Satya Niketan Sunday afternoon, killing at least six people and leaving more than a dozen injured.While one of the deceased was identified as Yuvraj, a student, the others are being identified through documents. The toll could rise as many are feared trapped under the debris. Rescue and search operations were underway in full swing late into the night.Police sources said repair and renovation work was allegedly underway on the ground floor and the basement, which led to the collapse.
Amid Screams Of Help, Locals & Students Form Human Chain In Early Rescue At Satya Niketan
An FIR has been registered against the building owner and, prima facie, two names have surfaced — Anand Bansal, a Gurgaon resident, and Hari Ram Bansal.However, official ownership records are being checked and an investigation is on to ascertain culpability. The case against the owner and others has been filed under BNS sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings) and 125-A (act endangering life or personal safety of others). Multiple teams have been formed to trace the accused, police said.Late night, CM Rekha Gupta ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. “Those found responsible for this grave incident will be held fully accountable and dealt with under the strictest provisions of law,” CMO posted on X.SOS calls reporting the collapse near a market in South Campus area were made around 1.34pm, following which emergency teams from Delhi Police, NDRF, Delhi Fire Service and DDMA, along with fire tenders and CATS ambulances, arrived at the spot and commenced operations.
‘Heavy machinery could endanger those trapped inside’
By late evening, nearly a dozen people were extracted from the rubble and shifted to hospitals.“The SHO and other senior officers rushed to the scene, along with other teams. Statements are being recorded regarding what happened and how the incident occurred. Whatever legal action is required will be taken,” additional DCP Abhimanyu Poswal said.CM Gupta, LG T S Sandhu and senior govt and police officials also visited the spot to supervise the rescue efforts and assess the situation.Ten of the injured were taken to AIIMS Trauma Centre, of whom four were declared brought dead while one succumbed during treatment.Among those injured are four students and two labourers. Three students — Abhishek, Neeraj and Aditya — are undergoing treatment at AIIMS Trauma Centre and are stable. An unidentified student is being treated at R&R Hospital. The two injured labourers, Asghar Ali and Ayan, are undergoing treatment at AIIMS Trauma Centre and Safdarjung Hospital, respectively. One of the injured has undergone limb surgery at AIIMS, the hospital stated.Police said a ‘missing persons’ list has been created and is being matched with the casualties and injured.Police probe and local inquiries revealed that the structure was over four decades old, comprising a basement and ground-plus-four storeys. It was being operated entirely as a PG accommodation housing students. While MCD said the building comprised ground plus four floors, locals alleged it housed ground plus five floors.Some students alleged the building had been vacated last year due to its dilapidated condition, but later MCD granted permission to run a PG accommodation. Police said they are examining these claims.As per sources, the building housed a 75-bed PG accommodation. The building owner had earlier rented out flats to students and only recently handed it over to a person to run a PG, they said.Delhi Fire Service chief fire officer Abhilash Kumar Malik said the building had suffered a “pancake collapse”, in which the upper floors come crashing down onto the lower floors, leaving the slabs stacked on top of one another like layers of a pancake.He said the presence of people trapped beneath the heavy concrete slabs made the rescue operation particularly challenging and time-consuming. “The operation has to be carried out slowly and carefully. Heavy machinery cannot be used as it could endanger those trapped beneath the debris. We have to use smaller machinery so that anyone trapped inside can be safely rescued,” he said.As colleges are currently open, students were inside their rooms at the time of the incident. In addition to the students living in the building, the surrounding area was active with vegetable stalls, pushcarts, parked vehicles and several local residents going about their routines.
